BBC says sorry to Queen

The BBC apologised to the Queen today for wrongly implying she had stormed out of a sitting with celebrity photographer Annie Leibowitz.

A trailer shown yesterday for forthcoming BBC1 documentary series A Year With The Queen gave the impression that the monarch had abruptly halted the photoshoot when Leibowitz asked her to remove her crown.

Scenes of the pair clashing over the request were followed by footage of the Queen walking down a corridor and telling her lady-in-waiting: "I'm not changing anything. I've had enough dressing like this, thank you very much."

But the footage was actually filmed as the Queen made her way to the sitting.

The BBC said: "In this trailer there is a sequence that implies that the Queen left a sitting prematurely. This was not the case and the actual sequence of events was mis-represented.

"The BBC would like to apologise to both the Queen and Annie Leibowitz for any upset this may have caused."

The BBC said the trailer had been edited incorrectly.

It was shown to journalists yesterday at a launch for BBC1's autumn season.

The full statement reads: "The BBC and RDF Television, the producers of the BBC1 series A Year With The Queen, would like to clarify that the clips shown in a promotional trailer on July 11 were not intended to provide a full picture of what actually happened or what will be shown in the final programme.

"This was an important photoshoot prior to the Queen's visit to the United States. In this trailer there is a sequence that implies that the Queen left a sitting prematurely. This was not the case and the actual sequence of events was mis-represented.

"The BBC would like to apologise to both the Queen and Annie Leibowitz for any upset this may have caused."

In the footage, the Queen walks into a room in Buckingham Palace, cluttered with camera equipment, wearing her crown and her Order of the Garter robes.

Leibovitz tells her: "I think it will look better without the crown because the garter robe is so..."

But before the photographer can finish saying "extraordinary", the Queen gives her an icy stare and replies: "Less dressy? What do you think this is?", pointing to what she is wearing.

The trailer then cut to a the Queen apparently storming off with an official lifting the large train of her blue velvet cape off the floor.

The documentary was filmed as the monarch prepared for her 80th birthday and a visit to the US.

It captures the working life of the Royal Family, with snippets unveiled today showing the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and Princes William and Harry on duty.

Leibowitz is one of the world's most famous photographers. Her work regularly appears in Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair magazines.

She is renowned for making unusual requests of her subjects - she once had Kate Winslet repeatedly dunked in a tank of water, and snapped Clint Eastwood after he had been tied up with ropes.

Leibovitz eventually released four official portraits of the Queen.